When
Muhammad Kharrazi began designing the Ahriman armor for the Iranian
military he knew it would never result in a cost-effective piece of
military hardware. It would be a prototype, and there would be no
future models. With that in mind he invested all of his intelligence
and knowledge, spurred on by recurring dreams of a great battle between
good and evil which he had been having since childhood. He saw the
chance to steal the prototype and become one of the world's greatest
heroes.

As
it turned out, Kharrazi would become one of the world's greatest villains,
and after some meditation on the topic he decided that the course his life
had taken was the right one. It would not matter which side of the
battle he was on, as long as he was contributing to the Great
Battle. In the first few years after stealing the armor, Ahriman was
a scourge in the Middle East, coming into conflict with American interests
in the region as well as the patriotic ubers known as the Five Pillars.

When
he was approached by Brainwave to join his Maximum Force, Kharrazi agreed,
seeing the opportunity to take the battle to America which he now saw as
being the primary battlefield between good and evil. While Brainwave
and Ahriman had several disagreements over the ensuing years, both men
came to regard each other as friends. When Maximum Force defeated
the New Men, it was Ahriman who suggested that the New Men be scattered
across the globe rather than killed.

When
the New Men returned, Ahriman was defeated by Saul Numen and sent to
prison, and his armor went into the possession of the United
Nations. During his short incarceration, Kharrazi meditated on the
various world religions, and when he was freed from prison by a man
wearing the stolen Ahriman armor, Kharrazi saw it as a moment to
re-evaluate his world position. He promptly killed the impostor,
took possession of the Ahriman armor again and freed the rest of the
Maximum Force team.

Ahriman
now believes that the battle between good and evil is unbalanced.
There are too many heroes around, and his new mission is to eradicate
(permanently) some of the heroes, or to persuade them to join the opposing
side of the Great Battle. He has a particular interest in persuading
the young Numen children to change their allegiance.

Artwork by Storn Cook

Personality

Ahriman
is a ruthless opponent. He completes his missions without thought
for mercy and does so in the least amount of time possible. He does
not see the point in prolonging pain and suffering, something which is
often a talking point between Ahriman and Brainwave.

Kharrazi is a pleasant and humorous man
outside of his armor. He is a man of science who enjoys pursuing
mysteries and discussing philosophy. He sees himself as being
involved in an epic struggle between good and evil, and although he may
like to have been considered for the side of good, he is quite happy to be
working for the other side. To Kharrazi, the actual sides matter
much less than the battle itself. He realises that such conflicts
have occurred throughout time and that this one is but a continuation of
the Great Battle.

He is disappointed with religion in
general, however, and although he would never harm a priest or holy man,
he has little time for them or the places they frequent. He
considers himself to be operating at a much higher level than priests and
imams.

Quote

"There
is a reason for all of this, but it is not for you to attempt an
understanding. All I require of you is submission. Anything
else is irrelevant."

Powers

Kharrazi
designed and built the Ahriman armor as a prototype, knowing full well
that it would be too expensive to mass produce. The armor is highly
resistant to injury and was designed to work in space. It utilises a
gravitational field generator which enables the wearer to manipulate
gravity in a variety of ways such as: creating force walls, focussed
pulses of energy and the ability to fly. The armor is also fitted
with enhanced sensory abilities and a regenerative self-repair system.

Appearance

Ahriman
is an imposing armor which completely hides the wearer's identity.
The helmet provides its own air supply and the visor glows with a green
light. The gauntlets are fitted with gravitic repulsors which also
glow green, and the power supplies are located on the backs of the
gauntlets.

Kharrazi
is a handsome man in his late thirties, and although he always wears
black, appears very open and approachable in his civilian guise. He
keeps his hair short but not in a military fashion.